To uninstall a program is one thing and to uninstall a program that doesn't want to uninstall is another thing on windows 10. This situation is a common one and I will show you can completely remove all traces of a program that refuses to be removed.
Over time, your computer begins to get full and clustered from the number of programs installed on it. It is always a good idea to remove programs that aren't needed anymore or that are causing issues on your computer.
Although, Windows 10 comes with a feature that can help you to repair programs on your computer.
Windows 10 comes with different ways to uninstall any program installed on it. Still, the only problem with Windows 10 uninstaller is that it is unable to uninstall some stubborn third-party programs completely.
If you use windows 10 default methods of uninstallation to uninstall a third-party program, there's a high chance that there are still traces of files of that program left behind.
The proper way to uninstall stubborn programs on Windows 10 is to use a powerful third-party uninstaller.
IObit Uninstaller is the third-party program I recommend because I have been using it for years and I can easily tell you that it gets the job done.
This powerful uninstaller will find every location a file is hiding and get rid of them.
Programs that leave traces or leftover files behind after deleting them can be very harmful to your computer.
Here are some reasons.
Why You Should Uninstall Programs on Windows 10 that Won’t Uninstall
Here are the reasons why you should remove stubborn programs.
1. Storage
When you uninstall a program, you expect that your disk storage should be a little bit free right?
Well, the answer is no when you are dealing with programs that won't uninstall. These kinds of programs leave a significant amount of file size somewhere on your computer without you knowing.
Sometimes, when you are even able to locate these files, you will be unable to delete them.
2. Performance
Programs that are won't uninstall leaves residual files even if you manage to find a way to delete them.
Those residual files can either be large are small in size depending on the size of the program itself.
These residues can be stored in an important folder which can negatively affect the performance and storage space leaving you to start finding large files on your computer.
You would have to clear these files wherever they are located so they don't cause any issues in the future.
3. Malware Threat
We all have our specific place or website where we download windows 10 program. The official and safest place to download any windows is through the Microsoft store which is within windows 10.
You downloading apps from an unknown website can be unsafe in some cases because you have no idea if any malicious code has been attached to the program you are downloaded.
This gets serious when you try uninstalling the program after finding out it is malicious. The program will continue to hide and reinstall itself making it impossible for you to get rid of it and you never know if the program has other motives.
But hey, you have nothing to worry about because I am going to show you how to remove every trace of this program.
Before I show you how to remove them, you need to know how to find all the installed programs on your computer.
How to Find Programs on Windows 10
Here's how,
1. Press the following command on your keyboard to open system settings:
Windows key + I
2. Click on Apps
3. In the Apps & features section, you will see a list of all the programs installed on your computer
Now that you how to find all installed programs on your computer, let's proceed with how you can get rid of stubborn programs
Methods to Uninstall Programs on Windows 10 that won’t uninstall
Here is a list of methods that can be used to uninstall programs on your computer.
- IObit Powerful Uninstaller
- Control Panel
- Windows settings
- Startup
- Program folder
- Commands
- Registry
Note - All these methods will help you remove programs on windows 10 but only iObit Powerful Uninstaller will help you completely uninstall programs that refuse to uninstall.
1. iObit Powerful Uninstaller
Here's how,
1. Download and Install IObit Uninstaller Pro.
2. Launch iObit Uninstaller.
3. Look for the program you want to uninstall and select or check the box by your left-hand side. You can select more than programs for uninstallation. In my case, I will be uninstalling proxy_client.
4. Click on Uninstall by your top right-hand corner.
5. You will get a pop up asking you if you are sure, click uninstall. Make sure automatically remove residual files is checked.
6. Wait for uninstallation to finish.
7. Congrats, you are done.
If you want to know other ways you can uninstall program on windows 10, continue with the steps below.
2. Control Panel
Here's how to uninstall programs on windows 10 through control panel.
1. Search for control panel in windows search.
2. Click on control panel among the result.
3. Click on programs and features inside control panel. Set view by to small icons if you can't find programs and features.
4. Now, click on the program you want to uninstall
5. Select uninstall located at the top
3. Windows settings
Here's how remove programs on windows 10 through windows settings
1. Press the following command on your keyboard to open system settings.
Windows key + I
2. Click on Apps.
3. In the Apps & features section, click on the program you want uninstall.
4. Now, click on uninstall.
4. Startup
Here's how uninstall programs through startup
1. Search for the program you want uninstall in windows search.
2. Right click on the program when you find it.
3. Click on uninstall. You will be redirected to control panel.
4. Inside control panel, click on the program you want to uninstall
5. Now, select uninstall at the top.
5. Program folder
Here's how to uninstall programs within its installed folder.
Note - Not all programs come with uninstall located within its installed folder. So, if you can't find uninstall withing any program folder, it's ok. Just move to the next step.
1. Search for the program you want to uninstall in windows search.
2. Right click on the program and select open file location.
3. Right click on the program again and select open file location among the options.
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on uninstall.exe.
6. Commands
There are two ways to use commands to remove programs on windows 10
- Command Prompt
- Windows PowerShell
Follow these instructions correctly.
Command Prompt
Here's how uninstall programs with command prompt
1. Search for command prompt in windows search.
2. Right click on command prompt and select run as administrator.
3. Type in the following command inside command prompt and press enter.
wmic
4. Type the following command beside wmic:rootcli> and press enter
product get name
5. A list of all your installed programs will be revealed in some seconds.
6. Type in the following command to select the program you want to install. Replace "your program" with the name of the program you want to install and include the quote in the command.
product where name=”your program” call uninstall
7. To begin the uninstalling process, type the following and press enter:
Y
Windows PowerShell
Here's how uninstall programs with windows PowerShell.
1. Search for windows PowerShell in windows search.
2. Right click on windows PowerShell and select run as administrator.
3. Type in the following command inside windows PowerShell and press enter.
Get-AppxPackage | Select Name, PackageFullName
4. In the name section, copy the name of the program
5. Type the following command and press enter. Replace PackageFullName with the name you just copied
Get-AppxPackage PackageFullName | Remove-AppxPackage
6. You are done.
To uninstall the program for all users, then use this command
Get-AppxPackage -allusers PackageFullName | Remove-AppxPackage
To uninstall all build-in programs then run the following command:
Get-AppxPackage | Remove-AppxPackage
7. Registry
Here's how uninstall programs with registry editor.
1. Search for registry editor in windows search.
2. Right click on registry editor and select run as administrator.
3. Type or copy and paste the following in the search box to take you straight to all your programs
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall
4. Select the program you want to uninstall.
5. Double click the uninstallstring to show you the value data
6. Copy the value data and close registry editor.
7. Right click on the windows icon located by your bottom left hand side. If you can't find the windows icon, it means it is missing and you have to restore the missing icon.
8. Select run.
9. Paste the copied value data and press OK to begin uninstalling.
